Frank was numb. Deep down, he had known all along that Joe had been hurt. He just had a feeling, one like he had never felt before. ‘I never should have let him talk me into bringing him out here. I knew better! Joe knew better! Boy, we really screwed this one up!’ Frank thought, berating himself. ‘How am I going to face Mom? Joe has to make it, he just has to.’

Sensing the emotional turmoil Frank was experiencing, Chet comfortingly put his hand on his best friend’s shoulder. "Everything is going to be okay, Frank. Joe and Vanessa will be fine. Just think of the story Joe will have to tell us when he gets better."

Frank forced a smile for his best friend, praying he was right.

****

As they emerged from the woods, Fenton noted that the scene had changed dramatically. The area was no longer garishly lit by ambulances and police cars. In fact only Ranger Clark and two sheriffs’ deputies remained with the women.

As soon as Laura spotted Fenton and the boys, she took off running in their direction, not stopping until she had collided with Fenton full force. She wrapped her arms around his neck, a single tear running down her cheek.

"Fenton, where is my son?" Laura questioned, afraid she already knew the answer.

"Honey, Joe was hurt pretty badly. They airlifted him and Vanessa to the hospital," Fenton replied, heartbroken by the look on his wife’s face.

"Was he shot?" Laura asked, tears now flowing freely.

Seeing that his Dad was too broken up now to answer his mother’s question, Frank took Laura in his arms, and as gently as he could, told Laura of finding Joe and Vanessa…and of the life-threatening injuries Joe had suffered.

Chet had pulled Andrea and Cassidy aside, telling them Vanessa was safe; cold and in shock, but safe. Andrea and Cassidy began crying tears of joy, while just a few feet away, the Hardy’s nightmare had just begun.

*****

Robert and Kevin had managed to clear out before the authorities had arrived. Gloating, because Joe Hardy was now dead, Kevin smiled as he pulled into the gates of Webber Ryland’s large upper New York estate. It was the wee hours of the morning, but he and Robert would have time catch a little shut-eye before regrouping with Ricky to make sure he had held up his end of the deal.

*****

The Hardy’s and Vanessa’s family arrived at the hospital, just as another beautiful fall morning dawned. Andrea was the first to receive news about her injured child. Vanessa had been placed in a room, and would fully recover in a couple of days. She was suffering from hypothermia and pneumonia. After a round of IV antibiotics and a few days bed rest she would be fine. Andrea and Cassidy headed off to see Vanessa, but not before Andrea had tightly hugged each member of the Hardy family. She also made Chet promise to let her know the moment there was any word on Joe.

Finally, after an agonizing hour had passed, a physician approached Fenton and Laura.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hardy?" He questioned in their general direction.

Fenton and Laura stood, Fenton extending his hand towards the kind-looking older gentleman, who gave it a shake. "I’m Fenton Hardy and this is my wife Laura, and my older son Frank," Fenton hoarsely replied.

"I’m Dr. Ward Freeman, Chief of Emergency Medicine. I treated your son, Joseph, when he first arrived. Let me begin by telling you that he is in critical condition. Why don’t we all sit down," he said as he motioned towards the hard chairs that filled the waiting room.

"The wounds that Joseph sustained were numerous, but thankfully, only three of them were severe. He has an eight inch wound to his left chest, which is quite deep. There are also rather large deep wounds in the abdomen and right shoulder. While these wounds are worrisome, it is the chest wound that has us most concerned. And, there is muscle involvement with the chest wound and shoulder wound."

Looking at the utter devastation on the faces of this young man’s family, he hated to go on. He had to though; the worst was yet to come.

"I’m afraid there’s more," Dr. Freeman continued. "The blood loss he suffered was massive…he almost bled to death. In fact, as I understand it, the only thing that kept him from bleeding to death was the constant pressure that was applied to the wounds by the young lady that was brought in with him. He is also hypothermic, which has caused problems in itself. Joseph arrested shortly after he arrived…"

"Joe…he likes to be called Joe," Laura whispered interrupting the doctor. Tears were once again streaming down Laura’s face. She was holding on to Fenton’s right hand and Frank’s left for dear life, as visions of a scared little boy ran through her mind once again.

"Of course," Dr. Freeman replied. He was not stunned at all by Laura’s request; he had seen stress and worry affect people in many different ways. The family before him was grief-stricken, and rightly so. "We were able to get his heart started again quickly, and he was not deprived of oxygen long enough to be concerned about brain damage.

He looked away momentarily, before he began again. "Joe needs surgery to repair the damage done by the bear, but right now, he simply isn’t strong enough to survive it. The wounds have been packed, and he is being given special drugs to help combat the blood loss. He received the first transfusion en-route to the hospital. Once he arrived, we began giving him type-specific blood. His blood type is A negative, which isn’t exactly rare, but usually runs in short supply. If any of you have that blood type, it might be a good idea for you to do a family donation. It could come in handy in the next few days."

Giving the difficult information a chance to soak in, the doctor added, "Well, those are the major obstacles we are facing at this time. There will be other issues to be dealt with later. Do you have any questions?"

"What are his chances?" Frank asked in a small voice.

Focusing on the distraught young man before him, Dr. Freeman replied, "Prepare yourselves for the worst, while praying for the best."